Reflections on Earth Day

15 Things You Can Do To Save The Earth

1. Plant A Tree
If every American family planted just one tree, over a billion pounds of “greenhouse gases” would be removed from the atmosphere each year. Trees will convert nasty pollutants, up to 60 pounds every year, to pure oxygen – and tree roots can help stop erosion. Trees absorb carbon dioxide, helping to reduce global warming. 900 million trees become pulp and paper every year. The average American uses the equivalent of seven trees every year. That’s over two billion trees used annually in the U.S. We can also reduce the number of harvested trees by buying more recycled paper. If we all recycled our Sunday newspapers, we could save 500,000 trees every week.

2. Check Your Tires
Properly inflated tires can improve gasoline mileage up to 5%. Of the half billion tires used in America today, 50% to 80% are under inflated, meaning 65 million drivers could improve their car’s fuel efficiency and save up to two billion gallons of gasoline a year. An engine tune-up can improve gasoline mileage 4%; replacing a clogged air filter can boost efficiency 10%; taking a roof rack, not being used, off your car will improve fuel economy 5%.

3. Give the Car a Break
Use public transportation, carpool, walk, or bike whenever possible to avoid using your car. If only 1% of the automobile owners in America didn’t use their car one day a week, it would save 42 million gallons of gasoline a year. You can also combine trips when running errands. Several short trips, using a car with a cold engine, can use twice as much fuel as a longer, multi-purpose trip covering the same distance with a warmed-up engine.

4. Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle
Reduce your garbage by 25%. In the U.S., we throw away two and one-half million plastic bottles every hour. Recycle plastic soda bottles, plastic wrap, water bottles, coffee-can lids, six-pack neck rings, and clean milk bottles, as well as aluminum cans, glass bottles, tin cans, cardboard, phone books, and newspapers. Give used cell phones, office equipment and even cars to your favorite charity. The average office worker throws away 180 pounds of high-grade recyclable paper every year. Almost three million tons of paper are collected from office buildings and industrial plants for recycling every year.

5. Conserve Electricity
Turn down the temperature on your hot water heater and wrap it in an insulating blanket. When you are looking to buy a new major appliance, such as a washer or a dryer, go for the energy-efficient models. Sixty percent of the energy associated with a piece of clothing is spent in washing and drying it. After washing your clothes in cold or warm water, hang them on the clothes-line outdoors in the fresh air instead of using the dryer. Turn the lights out when you leave a room.

6. Buy Renewable Energy
Purchase renewable energy from your local power company. Buying “clean energy” technologies (wind, solar, biomass, small hydro, and co-generation) can reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve energy efficiency. Help nudge your local utility toward a deeper shade of green. To find out if your local power company has a green power source check the Green Power Network’s U.S. Map

7. Turn Off the Computer
A screen-saver is not an energy saver. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, 75% of all the electricity consumed in the home is standby power used to keep electronics running when those TVs, computers, monitors and stereos are “off.”

8. Open a Window
Open a window instead of using the air conditioner. Adjust the thermostat a couple of degrees higher in the summer and lower in the winter. If everyone in America lowered their thermostats by six degrees, we would save the equivalent of 570,000 barrels of oil a day. Caulk and weather strip your doors and windows and insulate the walls and ceilings

10. Support Your Local Conservation Organization
The one organization in your community that has been planting trees, educating youth, cleaning waterways, saving natural areas and generally watching over the environment is your local conservation organization. By contributing to their work as a volunteer or a member you are helping to support the environment every day.

11. Use Less Water
Run your dishwasher only when it is full. Install low-flow showerheads - you can use 1/3 the water and be just as clean - and faucet aerators. America could conserve 250 million gallons a day if we all installed them. You can save and turn the water off when you’re shaving or brushing. Turn the hot water heater down to 130 degrees. Wash full loads of laundry in cool water or warm water. Fix all leaky faucets and toilets. A leaky toilet can waste 200 gallons of water a day or 36,000 gallons in six-months. Seventy-five percent of the water we use in our homes is used in the bathroom.

12. Change Your Light bulbs
Switch at least the five most frequently used light bulbs in your home to compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFL). CFLs cost more than conventional incandescent bulbs but use one-quarter the electricity and will not only last several years longer than traditional bulbs but they will also reduce the amount of electricity used, resulting in less pollution from power plants. There are over 100 million households in America. If a single CFL were installed in each of them there would be a savings of all the energy generated by one nuclear power plant running full-time for a year.

13. Rethink Lawn Care
Set your mower blades high, and don’t be a victim of “golf-course syndrome.” For most types of grass, the proper length is two to three inches high. “Cut it high and let it lie.” During dry periods, cuttings will serve as moisture – retentive mulch and a natural fertilizer. At other times, use grass clippings and other yard and garden waste to make a compost pile. Due to outdoor watering, water use increases by as much as 30% in the summer months. In a drought, don’t waste water on grass beginning to turn brown. It’s dormant and will revive after normal rainfall begins again. Homeowners use up to 10 times more toxic chemicals per acre than farmers. These chemicals endanger wildlife including the songbird population (by contaminating the worms they eat), as well as polluting the ground water. A green, healthy lawn is possible without chemicals.

14. Reduce Your Use of Packaging
Judge products such as bottles, cans, paper wrappings and cereal boxes by their recycled packaging potential. Choose products made from recycled products. Return plastic bags to the grocery store. Bring your canvas tote to the grocery store to get everything home.

15. Build a Backyard Bird Habitat
Helping to save and care for birds and animals can begin in your own backyard. By landscaping and planting with wildlife in mind you can provide them with natural food and shelter. Encourage birds to live near your garden or lawn by providing birdhouses, birdbaths, nesting areas, etc.
Hummingbirds like red morning glories, and butterflies are attracted by butterfly bushes and other brightly colored flowers in full sunlight. Birds can keep nature in balance. A single swallow can eat 1,000 leafhoppers a day and one brown thrasher can eat 6,000 insects a day. Even in a small city property you can attract birds simply by putting up a bird feeder on a balcony.

50 Things You Can Do to Save the Earth, The Earthworks Press; Earthkeeping, Life Education Inc.; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; Lime, 10 Ways to be Green; Time Magazine, Vol. 169, No.15.